This invention relates to a bandage that when used provides a self-contained endothermic chemical reaction that produces a cooling treatment effect beneficial for burn injuries and for other injuries such as injuries of the muscles and joints. The invention further encompasses a bandage dispenser that enables storage of the bandage and promotes activation of the endothermic reaction within the bandage when the bandage is withdrawn from the dispenser. The invention thereby provides a portable bandage applicable to wounds of varying size, whose endothermic cooling effect is particularly beneficial for the treatment of skin burns, and further beneficial for treatment of other injuries such as but not limited to chemical injuries to the skin, muscular injuries, joint injuries such as sprains, and contusions.
Burns of the skin are common thermal injuries that range in severity from the first degree burn such as associated with sunburn, to second degree or partial thickness burns characterized by blistering, to full-thickness or third degree burns that can be life threatening and often require skin grafting. Cooling of the affected skin immediately upon burn injury reduces the extent of tissue damage following thermal injury, and thus immediate cooling of the burn is an important component of appropriate first aid for a burn. In a recent study, Nguyen et al. estimated a 32% reduction in the need for skin grafts in burned children when immediate cooling of the injury was applied (Burns, 2002, 28:173-176). The rapidity that cooling treatment is instituted is an important determinant of the benefit gained in reducing thermal injury. In the household and emergency room, common cooling first aid treatment includes irrigating or submerging the burn wound in cold water or ice water for a period of time. However, such immediate measures may prove impractical or unavailable for injuries depending upon size and location of the burn, immediate availability to cold water, or during transportation to the hospital. There is thus a need for a method and product that is portable and readily available, enables rapid cooling of the burned skin, and is readily adaptable to the variability of burn injuries in size, extent, and body region affected.
The treatment of injuries such as but not limited to muscular injuries, joint and ligament injuries such as sprains, and other soft tissue injuries such as contusions with the application of cold to reduce swelling and bleeding is well established in medical practice.
In addition, Sawyer et al. recently reported that cooling of skin might also provide beneficial treatment of skin exposed to chemical weapon injuries, such as exposure to vesicant agents (Mil. Med 2002, 167: 939-943). Sawyer et al. found post-decontamination cooling of the skin lessened the severity of sulfur mustard induced injury.
Several patents in the prior art have addressed cooling bandages or packs for injury, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,984,951; 6,755,852; 5,697,961 and 5,190,033; including those based upon endothermic chemical reactions, for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,887,437; and 3,977,202; the above art incorporated herein in their entirety. However, cooling bandages and packs described in the prior art often have significant limitations such as requirements that they be maintained in cold storage prior to use, thereby limiting their use in the field, or limitations in their adaptability to varying injury due to their fixed size and bulkiness. The prior art does not provide a convenient endothermic bandage within a portable dispenser suitable for burns and other injuries of varying size and body location through the use of a variable size bandage, as is provided by the invention herein.